}anuaiy 28, 2u14

"#$% &$''$( )(*+ ,(- ,./01

Ny name is Biu Bavis anu I am Wenuy Bavis's uaughtei. I hate that I feel the neeu
to wiite this, but I have been ieauing anu heaiing so many untiue things about my
mom anu I want to set the iecoiu stiaight. Anu sauly I feel the neeu to be ciystal
cleai on the malicious anu false chaige of abanuonment as nothing coulu be fuithei
fiom the tiuth. Ny mom has always shaieu equally in the caie anu custouy of my
sistei anu me.

Ny mom hau my sistei at 19 anu although she was technically maiiieu foi a shoit
peiiou of time, she was hanuling almost eveiything on hei own. She was woiking 2
jobs iegulaily anu going to school. She met my uau when Ambei was still veiy
young. They hau an amazing love that I witnesseu foi many yeais. 0nfoitunately, it
uiun't last, like so many love stoiies uon't.

I can tell you that my mom was a iemaikable mothei anu continues to be so to this
uay. She was theie on my fiist uay of school anu my last, anu so many uays in
between. She nevei misseu a school peifoimance oi a paient-teachei
confeience. Even if that meant she hau to miss something else impoitant. Ny sistei
anu I weie always hei fiist piioiity. She was theie when I neeueu hei anu even
when I thought I uiun't. Ny mom was my Biownie Tioop leauei. I still iemembei
camping out in the backyaiu with my tioop aftei oui tiip was cancelleu because of
bau weathei. She was also my fielu hockey team mom uuiing my senioi yeai of high
school, not to mention that she went with me to eveiy single fielu hockey camp,
tiyout, piogiam that I evei hau. She helpeu me soit thiough college possibilities,
helpeu me with my applications anu visiteu colleges with me.

I will nevei foiget oui uiive to Coloiauo when she was uiopping me off as a
fieshman at Coloiauo College. I ciieu the entiie way. I am suipiiseu she maue it
thiough that one. Anu aftei we got theie, she stayeu foi uays making suie eveiy
uetail of my ioom was peifect until I finally hau to tell hei to leave.

Ny mom has been my sounuing boaiu foi eveiything in my life, fiom iesumes anu
papeis to helping me with ielationships. She was anu is an amazing mothei anu has
been the gieatest iole mouel I coulu imagine. Whatevei happeneu, whatevei
uifficult things she anu my uau went thiough, she was always theie. Anu I knew I
was loveu by hei, iegaiuless.

Yes, she went to law school aftei my sistei anu I weie boin. We liveu with hei the
fiist semestei, but I hau seveie asthma anu the weathei theie wasn't goou foi
me. Ny paients maue a uecision foi my sistei anu me to stay in Texas while my
mom kept going to school. But that uoesn't mean she wasn't theie foi us. She
tiaveleu back anu foith all the time, missing so many classes so that she coulu be
with us. Bei fiienus weie such a big help. Especially hei thiiu yeai, when she woulu
only go to school two weeks out of the month anu hei fiienus woulu shaie class
notes so she coulu tiy to keep up while she was home with us in Foit Woith.

I love that my mom went to law school anu was ueuicateu to both hei woik anu
us. Watching hei woik so haiu to achieve something gieat has been one of the most
impoitant lessons in my life. To this uay, I watch my mom gieeteu anu huggeu by
people who love hei anu aie thankful foi things she has uone foi them. I am piouu
of hei foi that. Both of my paients maue saciifices to make euucation happen foi all
of us, my sistei anu me incluueu. Anu both of them have been gieat iole mouels foi
what it means to caie about people in the woilu.

"#$% &$''$( )(*+ 2+3$( ,./01

Ny name is Ambei Bavis anu I am Wenuy Bavis' oluest uaughtei. I have spent the
past few uays ieauing the luuicious comments that people have shaieu on social
meuia about my mothei anu oui family. It is a shame that those who uon't know us
feel the neeu to comment on the uetails of oui lives as if they've liveu them. I have a
haiu time unueistanuing how such hate anu negativity can iesult fiom one peison's
false accusations.

Ny mothei hau me when she was veiy young, a kiu heiself. Anu although she was
maiiieu foi a shoit peiiou of time, paienthoou was hei sole iesponsibility. Yes, we
liveu in a tiailei. Boes it mattei how long. Not to me. Even though some people have
tiieu to question my own memoiies; I uo iemembei the tiailei, as well as the
apaitments that we liveu in uuiing the yeais that followeu. I know that I was my
mothei's fiist piioiity anu that she wanteu a bettei life foi me than the one she was
living. She woikeu 2 jobs anu went to community college at night. She iefuseu to
iepeat the life hei family stiuggleu in giowing up.

When I was a touulei, she met my step-uau, }eff. They shaieu an immeuiate
connection anu I staiteu to iealize what it was like to have a ieal family. They
maiiieu shoitly befoie I tuineu five. Not long aftei they maiiieu they hau my sistei,
Biu, the biggest baby I have evei seen. Ny paients hau an amazing maiiiage foi
many yeais. They challengeu each othei anu pusheu each othei to want moie out of
life.

Aftei giauuating at the top of hei class at TC0, she went on to Baivaiu law school.
Biu anu I liveu with hei the fiist semestei but oui paients soon iealizeu that it
woulu be bettei if we stayeu in oui chiluhoou home in Texas, be aiounu extenueu
family anu attenu oui iegulai schools. This was a uecision maue by both paients. I
have iecently heaiu the phiase "abanuoneu" quite often in the past week. That oui
mothei "left us to be iaiseu by oui fathei" while she went on to puisue hei
euucation. Not only is this iiuiculously unfaii; it's completely untiue. Biu anu I have
always been hei numbei one piioiity. Always. Anu eveiy uecision oui paients maue
was with oui best inteiests at heait. We hau an amazing suppoit system while she
was at Baivaiu anu she was constantly tiaveling back anu foith fiom school to be
with us. I'm piouu that my paients weie able to make this aiiangement woik.
People shoulu be less conceineu about who paiu foi what anu pay moie attention to
the fact that she was accepteu to Baivaiu law school, a uieam she believeu was
unachievable.

People have come to know Wenuy Bavis the politician. But I want people to ielate to
Wenuy Bavis, my mothei. I have a bonu with my mothei that is unlike any othei.
Even as a S1 yeai olu auult, I will foievei be iefeiieu to as hei "Punky Biewstei."
She is my best fiienu - the one I can confiue in without juugment. I look up to hei
anu iely on hei foi guiuance anu suppoit, even to this veiy uay. She is my iock anu
has always been a iole mouel in my life.

Ny mothei has achieveu so much uespite the ouus. Bei stiength anu uesiie to
fuithei hei caieei is an inspiiation anu a quality I aumiie most about hei. She has
always hau my full suppoit anu I am so piouu of hei accomplishments. She is a
iemaikable mothei. I uon't think she gives heiself enough cieuit sometimes.

0ui family has gone thiough uifficult times just like many otheis. That's not news.
That's life. I'm suie many people can agiee that uivoice is ceitainly not an easy thing
to expeiience. At that time, I was a young auult in college anu Biu was in high school
anu to be cleai, no one "lost oi gave up custouy" of eithei one of us. But no mattei
how uifficult it was, both of oui paients weie theie foi us. Anu no mattei what
happeneu within oui family, oui mothei always maue it known that we weie anu
iemain the most impoitant thing in hei life.